Former QB looks back on Villanova's revived football program

IN THE Andy Talley era, Villanova has more often than not had a big-time quarterback. Whether it was Chris Boden or Brett Gordon (2002 Walter Payton Award runner-up to Eastern Illinois' Tony Romo), who threw it all over the place, to national-champion catalyst Chris Whitney and current starter John Robertson (2012 national freshman of the year), they are guys who can make just as much happen with their legs, as the offense has evolved into something different but no less potent.

That kind of legacy had to start somewhere.

Kirk Schulz played his last game nearly a quarter-century ago. But he still holds the Wildcats' records for consecutive completions (21) and most plays (1,571). He's second in passing yardage (9,676). He's also first in interceptions for a season (22) and career (73). Hey, if you put it up enough times, bad things will happen, too.

Even after all these years, that's not too shabby for someone who didn't even expect to get off the bench.

The school had just restored the program at the Division I-AA level, following a 4-year absence. And Talley had recruited Kevin McNicholas from Ridley High, an all-stater who many thought had Division I talent. Including Schulz, who came from North Jersey and wound up on the Main Line as much for the academics and the proximity as anything. The only other program looking at him was William & Mary.

Then McNicholas left for personal reasons after the first season back (1985), in which the Wildcats won all five of their games against mainly D-III competition. So the job went to Schulz, who'd redshirted. Four years later, he was leading the team to a Yankee Conference title and its first NCAA playoff appearance, a 52-36 loss at eventual national champion Georgia Southern in which he threw for four touchdowns and also scored on a sneak.

Twenty years later, of course, the 'Cats won it all by beating Montana in Chattanooga, Tenn. Schulz was there, along with many of his teammates. They've always felt a tangible connection to everything that came after they left.

"Obviously, it's their team now, it's what they accomplished," said Schulz, a father of three and the partner of a Las Vegas-based enterprise, Source One Events, with longtime friend Branan Allison, who was in the same recruiting class. "But that day against Montana, I'll tell you, you don't feel like you're that far removed from it . . . It's like, 'Yeah, we're the 'Nova guys.'

"It really is a wonderful thing to be able to say we were kind of the first ones. What an opportunity we had. And to watch all these kids come behind you, and all of them just keep getting better. It's been pretty amazing. At that level in particular, you'd better have a good quarterback."

Kind of like him, right?

"[McNicholas] was more ready than me," Schulz recalled. "Not in a million years did I ever think it would go the way it did. I wasn't very fast. I didn't have a great arm. I approached the game cerebrally. The thing for me was, let's just keep the [first-down] sticks moving. My first season, we won [our second] game at Mercyhurst, in the mud on, like, a double-reverse pass. The whole personification of my career was one step at a time and let's see where it gets us. I had my stumbling blocks. But pretty soon, you get to the point where you're building belief in yourself. We played an old-school style. They gave me a lot of leeway.

"Holy Cross [39-6 loss to end the 1988 season], I got picked off like five times. But we also had some great wins. I felt like I was the luckiest man on earth. All I had to do was kind of manage the game. Think your way through it and lead your guys. That was my deal. And it really helped my development as a person, gave me the confidence that I never really had before. I've used that in my life."

He stays in touch with many of those with whom he shared a locker room. Some are close friends. Schulz got his master's degree on the Main Line. When he got married, the university president, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, performed the ceremony.

"He did it before he was president," Schulz said, laughing. "He was buddies with everybody on the team. That was the culture."

As good as the recent times have been, Talley acknowledged there will always be something special about those "back-in-the-day" snapshots. Just because.

"When you visit with them, they remember things that I can't," he noted. "And I'm going like, 'What, I never said that.'

"They were the building blocks of what we've become. Kirk was the man for 4 years. A pocket passer, classic dropback guy. I don't think he ran a 5-flat 50. But he could sling it. We went through so much together. Some of them will tell me, 'I could never play here now.' But a lot of them could."

Maybe even the ones who projected themselves as a backup.

"I'm so blessed, for all the experiences and all the relationships that came from that," Schulz said. "To this day, whenever we get together, if it's been a while, it's like we haven't missed a beat. That's the great thing.

"When you go back, it's strange how much hasn't changed. But the program is much better than when it began. You do feel like you helped that growth. Like you're still part it, after all this time. Because you were."

Someone had to ignite the torch.